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Incredible S Review: 3 days In, So Far So Good

If you are only into the latest and greatest hardware, and have to have dual core CPU's, this is not for you!
If you are actually interested in this phone, hopefully this will be of some help
Form Factor & Appearance
First off, this phone feels great in the hand. I don't have particularly large hands, and the Desire HD felt a bit too big, but this is perfect. It's nice to hold in landscape in two hands, or to use in one handed operation. The materials are nice and expensive feeling, very strong and sturdy construction, and it has enough weight to feel expensive without being heavy. The soft touch rubberised back is comfy to hold in the hand (even with the big ridge). From a looks perspective, to me it is a very attractive phone (from the front it looks like an iPod touch without the home button), very clean lines with almost the entire of the front being taken up by the 4" screen. The 4 capacitive buttons are accurate and responsive, and the rotating feature is a nice touch. They are completely invisible when not lit, which gives the phone a very clean appearance when the screen is off.
Screen - 4" SLCD
Let me start by saying yes, next to an AMOLED or a SAMOLED the colours do not 'pop' as much, but it is in my opinion a lot clearer (this may not be true of SAMOLED+ as that no longer uses pentile, but I have no way of comparing). In short it is a very nice screen. It is crisp and clear, and the colours are accurately represented to my eyes. Pictures and videos are sharp and pleasing to look at, and I have read for an hour on the Kindle app without problem. Games like Angry Birds look bright and colourful, but blacks are deep enough to not distract when watching a movie in the dark.
Horsepower - 1GHz MSM8255 Snapdragon & 768MB RAM
This thing is snappy. I am beginning to wonder what this dual-core noise is about as this phone literally flies through screens without a hint of lag or stutter. Whether it be browsing the web, playing games, adding contacts or using the sat-nav, I have not noticed a single hint of slowdown. I used a wide range of what I would consider to be fairly hardware intensive apps, including Angry Birds, Raging Thunder, Asphalt and CoPilot all of which ran without a hitch. For the benchmark junkies it linpacked ~ 38 MFLOPS, Neocore'd ~ 57 FPS and Quadranted ~ 1700.
Storage - 1.1GB Internal App Storage & 8GB Class 4 SDHC (Bundled)
Although I would like all internal storage, I am happy with the current arangement of > 1GB app storage and microSD cards. 1GB is more than enough for me, and I am planning to add a 32GB Class 10 microSD at the end of this month (here is the cheapest I have found if you are interested). Some may find this OK, some might want all internal storage, matter of personal preference really.
Cameras - 8MP Rear facing inc. Dual LED Flash & 1.3 MP Front Facing
The camera on the back is one of the nicest Android shooters I have had the privilege to use. Pretty sure it is the same as the one on the Desire HD, it takes clear crisp and bright pictures, the auto focus and face detection working quickly an accurately, and the time between being able to take photo's is very minimal (even when tested with a crappy Class 2 SD at 8MP!). The LED's provide very harsh, bright and unflattering lighting, but as no one appears to want to put a proper Xenon flash on an Android phone, it's the best we can get . They do however make for an excellent flashlight, and can be used with video recording. The camera can record 720p footage at 30FPS, and is pretty standard fare, while you won't be recording the next hollywood blockbuster on it, it is more than good enough for your next YouTube masterpiece of "Guy falling off skateboard" . The zoom level is not fixed for camera recording either, which is a nice feature to have.
The front facing camera is bog standard, good enough for video calling, and works well as a pocket mirror.
Battery - 1450 mAh
The battery life on this surprised me, especially after the Desire HD. HTC seemed to have learnt from their mistakes as this phone can get through more than 24 hours with fairly heavy usage. Might take a few more days to get a more acurate idea of how it will last, but I am pleasantly surprised
Other Notable Features -Notification LED, Dual Mics & FM Radio
An annoying feature missing from the samsung and Motorola phones, HTC have included a notification LED on the Incredible S (much to my delight). A small feature, but a much needed one and worth noting IMHO. The dual mics for noise cancellation work well and are a welcome feature, and something some have been phasing out is the FM radio. It hasn't been turned off yet!
And now for the cons...
This phone isn't without it's downsides. If I were putting together a list of improvements...
Better loudspeaker - the loudspeaker is very weak, and could do with improving.
Xenon Flash - Missing from all Android phones IMHO
Dedicated Camera Button - I don't see why people keep missing this simple yet much needed feature
Mini HDMI Port - It includes DLNA support, but a mini HDMI port would have been nice
Conclusion
HTC say this phone sits between the Desire S and the Desire HD, but I beg to differ. To me this is a Desire HD 1.5. Not a revolution of the flagship, but a marked improvement in several areas. The change in design and the slight shrink in screen size make it more comfortable to hold an easier to sit in the pocket. The smaller screen also helps the larger battery to fix the major flaw in the DHD, and the front facing camera makes the phone relevant n a world where video calling is trying to become popular (again, am I the only one who had a video mobile phone 8 years ago?!). I would recommend this phone to anyone looking for an upgrade now, unless you want to wait for the dual core craze to begin.
This phone was purchased at Carphone Warehouse on Vodaphone, 24 Months @ £30 with 500 min, unlimited texts and 500MB internet (free phone).
Note: I actually got this phone for my Fianceé as she was due an upgrade. She had a Samsun Pixon M8800 and she thinks it's the best thing in the world ever, and hasn't spoken to me for two days as she has been too engrossed in it . I am seriously considering one as an upgrade from My Hero, and will probably have my own before tomorrow is finished. I will upload some pics of the device, and sample footage and pics from the camera when I get the chance

Great review!
Can you confirm AWS band on the Incredible S?
GSMArena used to have a 900/1700/2100 HSPDA band spec for this phone, but has now changed it to 900/2100.
I want to import for T-Mobile USA, but need to know if it supports AWS.

Great review, I have exact same deal from Carphone as you, and i am delighted with the phone, it is truly awesome. I agree with everything you said, except I am not so sure about the battery life. Mine has not had a great deal of use today, but its been off charge for only 12 hours and I reckon it will need to go on the charger pretty soon if I do a bit of surfing this evening. Cheers

Bands are as follows:
HSPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 900/AWS/2100 MHz
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Hope that helps!

Thanks for this review... One thing i wanted to ask was how "fingerprinty" does the phone get?
I'll be upgrading from the HTC Hero, which has stood up quite well thanks to the efforts of various devs.
I'm also planning on buying it handset only as i'm on an amazing phone plan and i'd rather get lower line rental than the free phone! Prices i've seen are around £480-£500... not yet sure if it's worth that.

Bantu85 said:
Thanks for this review... One thing i wanted to ask was how "fingerprinty" does the phone get?
I'll be upgrading from the HTC Hero, which has stood up quite well thanks to the efforts of various devs.
I'm also planning on buying it handset only as i'm on an amazing phone plan and i'd rather get lower line rental than the free phone! Prices i've seen are around £480-£500... not yet sure if it's worth that.
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Much better than those plastic phones i.e Samsung Gal S & Neux 2. The screen will get fingers prints (as per most phones) but the back is covered in a rubber coating which is nice to grip and leaves no prints, unless the fingers were covered in grease in the first place
Note: CPW £449 pay as you go.... Their phones are unlocked. I know cos I have brought my last 3 handsets inc the HTC Incred S from CPW

l0st.prophet said:
If you are actually interested in this phone, hopefully this will be of some help
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Very much so, best run down I have seen upto now! Thanks for the taking the time out and I look forward to hearing more from you and seeing the pics you are planning to upload.
Bantu85 said:
Prices i've seen are around £480-£500... not yet sure if it's worth that.
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Totally agree especially given that HTC market this as being 'in between' the Desire and the Desire HD. Should it not therefore hold an in between price tag too?
ganstakillerz said:
Note: CPW £449 pay as you go.... Their phones are unlocked. I know cos I have brought my last 3 handsets inc the HTC Incred S from CPW
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Nice tip, thanks for that, still pricey but a little less painful I guess!

I actually went back today and got my own, so I will upload all the pics & video tomorrow. I am also looking into rooting it as no devs appear to have picked one up, but I am not making any promises, I am working pretty much totally off the internet and what info I can piece together

l0st.prophet said:
I actually went back today and got my own, so I will upload all the pics & video tomorrow. I am also looking into rooting it as no devs appear to have picked one up, but I am not making any promises, I am working pretty much totally off the internet and what info I can piece together
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Hah, so you and your other half are sat in silence now as you both play with your new toys I take it? ;-p
Excellent, great to hear. I think it's early days for the devs at the moment and when it starts to show on Verizon etc state side I think we can expect more from this - after all, it's always only a matter of time isn't it
Thanks for your input, I am considering picking one of these up myself as I really do not want anything above 4" and the only real 'superphones' that have come out of MWC 2011 are 4.3 - with the exception of some of the lesser tried and tested makes.
The speaker REALLY puts me off though, I had really hoped HTC would have learned their lesson!

xspyda said:
Hah, so you and your other half are sat in silence now as you both play with your new toys I take it? ;-p
Excellent, great to hear. I think it's early days for the devs at the moment and when it starts to show on Verizon etc state side I think we can expect more from this - after all, it's always only a matter of time isn't it
Thanks for your input, I am considering picking one of these up myself as I really do not want anything above 4" and the only real 'superphones' that have come out of MWC 2011 are 4.3 - with the exception of some of the lesser tried and tested makes.
The speaker REALLY puts me off though, I had really hoped HTC would have learned their lesson!
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I personally use the headphones and don't use the loudspeaker, but I can see it being a turn off if it is important to you. I don't mind it for watching a youtube video and turning on SRS helps, but it is still pretty tinny. I wish I had a DHD to compare to so I could let you know how it matches up, but I don't know anyone with one

Well from my short time with both devices I can say that neither are great but the DHD seemed marginally better to me. That said, I spent a good few days with the DHD in different ambient conditions whereas I spent minutes with the Incredible S and was only able to listen to the audio supplied on the phone which to be fair is a poor example.
I don't want to listen to music on the phone but as I say, watching video's / clips the tinny sound is very grating. Seriously considering getting one on an 'able to return' basis though to see if I can put up with it as this phone seems to have everything else I want.
Maybe someone else with this and the DHD will be able to comment on the speaker comparison?

l0st.prophet said:
If you are only into the latest and greatest hardware, and have to have dual core CPU's, this is not for you!
If you are actually interested in this phone, hopefully this will be of some help [/SI
Hi to all, could you tell me about the flash player in this phone? has it the one that desire hd has?(10.1) or the lite edition?
thank u
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HD2_MANIAC said:
l0st.prophet said:
If you are only into the latest and greatest hardware, and have to have dual core CPU's, this is not for you!
If you are actually interested in this phone, hopefully this will be of some help [/SI
Hi to all, could you tell me about the flash player in this phone? has it the one that desire hd has?(10.1) or the lite edition?
thank u
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has full Flash 10.1 (soon to be 10.2)
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Click to collapse

Any info on how it handles video codecs? I assume out of the box it will not play avi / divx?
Presume such apps as Vplayer / QQPlayer and Rockplayer will let you play a full sized avi with no fuss though and remain in sync throughout?

xspyda said:
Any info on how it handles video codecs? I assume out of the box it will not play avi / divx?
Presume such apps as Vplayer / QQPlayer and Rockplayer will let you play a full sized avi with no fuss though and remain in sync throughout?
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I found that it does actually play some avi files without the likes of rockplayer; however when using rockplayer it seems to be flawless, though sound is adequate rather than amazing via loud speaker, ear phones is perfectly acceptable.

Great review!
Cheers!
I am currently deciding between this and the DHD... I prefably like the DHD for it's price. Much cheaper than the Incredible. The battery performance on the incredible actually sounds bloody amazing according to your review! The DHD 1230Mah battery is it's weakness point. I am in a dilema on which to get...
Like you said though, it isnt a MAJOR upgrade. So should i get the DHD for a worse battery but for a cheaper £389 compared to £499?
Cheers!

remember it's £459 if buying from CPW - you can buy the cheaper PAYG deal as they are all sim free anyway!

xspyda said:
remember it's £459 if buying from CPW - you can buy the cheaper PAYG deal as they are all sim free anyway!
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thanks! any chance for a link?

Sure ...
Here ya go

Thanks for posting this review and the follow-up. I'm looking at getting this phone instead of the DHD because of the poor battery life and the uni-body design of the DHD.

Is OB a good option?

Hi OB users, I have been very tempted to buy this phone but I have a few questions that hopefully you can help me answer and decide whether or not it is a good decision to go ahead and buy it.
1.-I've heard battery life sucks, is this true? will it improve significantly if GB is ever released by LG (or maybe ICS will be the immediate update instead)?
2.-LG announced ICS will be released for OB, but I have also seen that LG has let down users many times with upgrades (e.g. GB), so do you still trust LG for keeping your HW up to date in terms of SW?
3.-If you could chose, would you chose again the OB or you would pass?
4.-Have you found HW limitations that have a direct impact over Android performance(amount of RAM, being only single core where the trend is to go dual or even quad)?
5.-Any last thoughts you could give me about your experience with this phone
Thanks in advance to everyone who took the time of reading my post, hopefully you can help me make the best decision.

Answers :
1 - battery life is normal, as any other 4" 1500mah phone, no better,no worse.
2 - Yes i trust about the release, but not the release "date".
3 - For single core, i will choose OB, my next pass is Galaxy Note at moment D), may be different when i actually changing from OB to any other device; but will wait for 3-4 months, OB meets all my need so far.
4 - 1080p video gives jerks, but 720p video runs very smoothly on OB. Haven't experienced much h/w limitations so far. [ i mean look at market, mobiles like Galaxy Y, Ace; Optimus One/Net; Defy etc occupy more than 70% of android phones, so a single core 1ghz 512mb RAM is not bad at all.. ]
5 - Display brightness and colour contrast is by far the best in whole era of smartphones, except LG PRADA 3 releasing this christmas.

It is a good option, as you may know is not the best out there, but it is a good one.
Everyone knows that smartphones are hungryphones, so it's almost the same issue to all devices. I do moderate use of it [2~3 hours calling, 2~3 hours music/gaming, about 1hour of wifi] daily and charge it every 2 days, so it's fine for me.
At the moment there is no single game that I tested and fail. Asphalt HD 6, PES 12, Fieldunners HD, GunBros [and playing online], Minigore, World of Goo, AngryBirds [all of them] and so on...
Display is a higher pro, 12pm at summer and sunniest day of the year still clearly see that display.
I'm not and android knower or anything, but in my opinion the only thing bad is SW updates or should I say no updates at all, but hey we have cm7 in good shape now and getting better

1. For me I find that the battery life of my OB can be quite erratic. Meaning sometimes it could last for 2days without charging, and sometimes the battery will just be depleted overnight (which is quite scary if you're using it as an alarm)
^Without me installing any new apps.
2. They promised, so they would have to get ICS out by hook or by crook or it will be very very bad publicity.
3&4. This I'm not too sure about myself. What I look for in a phone is it being slim and light, and a good camera. The OB is one of the thinnest phones at an affordable price. Maybe I would have gotten the Galaxy S2 or Droid Razr. So far I haven't seen it lag in heavy games like NOVA.
5. The screen is very good, colour accuracy is better than those AMOLED displays every other phone is using imo. the whites on the screen are realllllly white.

1.) Battery life definitely does not suck, it will last for 24 hours with Wi-Fi on, 3G off, 3-4 audio calls, 2 hour gaming, 3-4-5 browsing, Facebook, Messenger, Foursquare, Latitude open non stop, 30min-1h of navigation, 2-3 hours of music on the headphones, screen light on optimized (based on the light sensor ).
I know that some people wish that their Android's battery will last a week or so, but it's not 2001 anymore and these phones are not the 3310s anymore, so, IMHO, 24 hours is great, considering everything you're doing with it in that interval.
2.) Now that I've finally rooted it, I really don;t care. Yes, LG has been really delayed with the GB update, and that could possibly mean that it will delay the ICS release a lot, but that's what we have XDA for, right ?
3.) I would definitely choose the OB again. In my humble opinion it is the best price/performance ratio out there. Big screen, powerful single-core processor, enough ram to handle almost anything you throw @ it, the PowerVR GPU is a great video chipset, third best after MALI and Tegra on the market right now, all in all it's a great phone, and yes, there's always going to be a newer, better phone released, but for its price, the OB does it all.
4.)I kind of already answered that, I'll fill in additional details: There are almost no lags within the UI, the default LG Launcher is sometimes a bit laggy for half a second or so, but its just the launcher, not the phone. After replacing it with Launcher Pro for example, it performs beautifully. My Core i5 Desktop PC doesn't cycle through Windows that smooth :O The 720p playback is brilliant, no lag or other problems at all.
5.) Any last thoughts ? My personal conclusion after owning it and a SGSII for over 2 months now is this: it does 85-90% of what the SGSII does at almost half the price. Definitely a bargain !
Wish you luck with your new phone, regardless of what that will be.

Yes and no
It's like a good car with a bad driver on it... (Hardware and software) I suggest you to find a good car with a good driver Xpreia Neo V can be a good alternative...

if you want high end stuff I suggest you to wait panasonic's come back nearly april (will be presented at CES 2012)
there is also the "free thinking festival" about the OB

Thanks to everyone who read my post and dedicated some time to answer back. OB seems like a really good phone to me now, so hopefully, within the first 2 months of 2012 I might put my hands in one of those (or even sooner if I find it at a good price). Thanks again guys, you are much better than the people on the Acer tab A500 forum that I frequently check. Looking forward for more opinions

in a nutshell, if u want a brilliant 4 inch of screen estate, decent CPU nd a capable GPU,a sleek sexy and awesome looker, vivid camera and the best FRONT FACING cam,a great gesture controllable UI, go for op. Black. The software is no prob.
I had a tok wid MIUI and they confirmed immediate support for the device.also, the official GB will be available by jan latest.
If u want to hear glitches of this phone, am sorry to disappoint you....root nd delete the LG BLOATWRE,u wl hv 1day with heavy use.

I was watching this review on youtube and the guy mentions 2 issues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BbO5TI7Fg
1.-The phone overheats and becomes unbearable to hold
2.-Signal strenght decreases while holding it (similar to iPhone 4)
Could you guys share your experience in these 2 areas? I am thinking this guy might have received a faulty unit, but I just want to confirm. Thanks again guys.

sensei22 said:
I was watching this review on youtube and the guy mentions 2 issues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BbO5TI7Fg
1.-The phone overheats and becomes unbearable to hold
2.-Signal strenght decreases while holding it (similar to iPhone 4)
Could you guys share your experience in these 2 areas? I am thinking this guy might have received a faulty unit, but I just want to confirm. Thanks again guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone may overheat when you use it while it is charging or if you're playing heavy games. My OB haven't heated up to a point thats unbearable to hold. Usually the camera area heats up. I believe that all slim phones heat up just like my friend's S2.
When it comes to signal, it's almost at par with nokia phones. With my Giorgio Armani phone, I can't even send sms inside my room, but with my OB, I can recieve and send sms anytime.

Had no such problems until now. Only heated once, but I was heavily multi-tasking atm, cooled down 2-3 minutes later. Regarding the signal, I had trouble with my old Sony Ericsson w960i and with my newer BB 8520 Curve inside this house, but the signal, even on 3G, on the OB is pure brilliancy !

Tips:
for browser use opera mobile for smooth hardware accelerated browsing.
for launcher use launcherpro. Its the smoothest launcher out there.
With all the above and CM7 the effect is my P970 is more responsive than my iphone4. Definitely worth the buy. Other good option with much tempting price is samsung galaxy W.

In my opinion its the BEST VFM out there...i m very satisfied with it!

3.-i would pass.
4.-hw is somewhat limited. gpu is weakest in competition. but games' generally working ok.
5.- sound quailty sucks. buy yourself a mp3 player with ob.

HW-wise the phone is unusable as a car navgiation. The GPS is incredibely inaccurate (50-100m difference is not a problem).
I never experienced overheating (yes, if you push it it's warm but not too much)
SW-wise the original firmware is quite buggy - there are problems with contacts associations, it happened that my phone stopped recieving SMS. There is no stable alternative, nor there is GB upgrade.
If I was considering buying the phone again, I would go for Nexus S, which costs nearly the same money, has larger community support, there is official ICS port and I can actually use it in my car.

should i buy this phone

hi all
my current phone is galaxy s2 and i would like to change my phone
so i'm thinking about the 4x is it a good phone, and as 4x user how do you think about it?
is really lg bad in update and as i read there is no real developer for lg phone!

yes here are no proper devolper for this phone.....but phone is good.....bright disply...sound high and phones look awsome...battery backup is best.......all the littel things ignored..hurry...purchase the phone

vijay2 said:
yes here are no proper devolper for this phone.....but phone is good.....bright disply...sound high and phones look awsome...battery backup is best.......all the littel things ignored..hurry...purchase the phone
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thank you

This phone make the best deal for gaming experience.
Other purpose (multimedia, browsing, document processing) is adequate.
If you like to take precision and advanced camera function, you may want to look another model.
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda app-developers app

Why is browsing adequate? Is it better on the One X lets say?
I found browsing fast and as good as it gets.

is the camera that bad?

camera is good but not perfect need some software fixes...the phone is great and smooth but need more software support
if bootloader unlocks devs gonna make the best of this phone

DONT
i regret it.
bootloader and crappy lg support messed it up
One X all the way..

onex is good but have some serious touch problems and high temp overheat...
read my friend...
and this phone is new...give it some time
onex got almost morethan 1 year of rom cooking

i Hate Samsung for there bad quality in production "i have alot of problem with them" second thing both company have slow software support in my region
but at least Samsung have unlocked bootloader and HTC is very Overpriced here.

4X heats on gaming too..
and one year of rom cooking? they can. we cant.
my advice, go for s3.. or wait till someone uses an S4 pro chip and go for that..
but not optimus g.. that'll suck **** too

I'm still cheating on it with my p1i. But if you need an android phone, you can do (a lot) worse than this one. Battery life is good, when comparing it to other android phones I've tried... also compared to other tegra 3 devices.. Standby-time tends to be measured in days, which is as it should be (even if that hasn't been obvious for designers for a while for some reason). And battery life while running low-power apps also is good because of the companion core, and lack of in-built apps that use active focus, or keep requesting busy services too fast, etc. So playing music or streaming in the background, and so on, actually didn't draw much power.
So then you have basically the standby time of the second generation iPhones, while still also having the low power-draw while running modest tasks, or flipping through the menus. Seems to be intelligently set up when it comes to using cores when accelerating video, and running on hdmi out as well. That it's not pushing every core to full burn, and balance the running cores. I expect that this is not specific to this phone, though, and happens transparently on the chipset (and that it's the lack of active in-built apps in the background that makes the difference between this and the onex that I tried). On top of that you have apparently the best 3d performance in the shop, without the thing becoming a glowing hot potato in your hand after two minutes.
Menu system and standby screen with the circle unlock (that opens up directly to the app below, etc) also works well, imo. Would wish they did a bit more with it and let you customise it a bit more, though.
Did I mention it has a stereo-plug connector that's not in conductive rubber? That's lovely. Screen and edges I like better than the iPhone I was forced to use for a short while.
Also, optional and removable sd-slot. Thought that was standard nowadays, but no.
Negatives are.. no led blip when getting new messages. Is a bit strange, but saves me a lot of stress, strangely enough
Has no keyboard. And it's fricking huge (relatively speaking.. it's smaller than both the galaxy 3 and the onex.. :/ which makes it the smallest in this class.. fail.. ). If you open it up, the widest component is the module with the home-buttons. Next is the external modules for antenna, I think. The actual core chip with the bus-interface is less than half the thickness of the device. Battery is tiny inside the chassis as well. They could easily have fitted a slightly flatter but larger lithium-polymer battery inside that casing, and had twice the battery life on this thing.
So maybe one day, we'll get a device like this in a credit card sized ips panel. Grey or Tegra4 maybe? Should be possible in the current design as well, though.
Other than that - no odt text editor in Android yet. But I can spam twitter and facebook with every touch of my fingers. Otherwise, format support is good, and this phone doesn't force you to use specific applications via annoying vendor registry settings. Which is a mercy since the boot-loader is locked.
But lacking that smaller phone... since there unfortunately ARE NO PHONES LIKE THAT ON THE MARKET WHATSOEVER. Smaller phones also tend to be thicker. And the different manufacturers are competing with themselves on who can make the most iPhone-like iPhone copy. And have apparently decided that slide-out keyboards are evil... So with that in mind, this is probably the best you can get at the moment, since it's also the cheapest tegra 3 phone on the market. Frankly agonized a lot over buying it, but I'm not unhappy with it so far.

Also, a thing very very important with me, is that since its plastic and with patterns, I dont have to put it in a case, which will make it even bigger. I just use a screen protector and I am done!

even that i'm fully aware of the locked bootloader, i still bought it, because it has excellent hardware with a good price...
for the camera, im not using stock apps, and it is good

[Q] Is the Razr i still worthy of consideration?

I believe it is and it has definitely been on my wish-list ever since it first came out. Specifically the i, not the M version. But it has been a year and a half since it was launched, so I thought you guys, the owners, would be the perfect people to tell whether it's still a good buy
Firstly, could you tell me about how does it age? I mean, if you have it for longer than a year now, did it collect too many scratches or other signs of wear and tear? The build quality of the thing seems to be top notch, but I hope you guys can tell me whether it stands up against the everyday usage just as well
And secondly, I'm just going to list things I use my smartphone for and what I want from it and maybe you could tell me whether the Ri would be a good choice for me
Use for, do and want:
-compactness (I currently have a DEFY+ and I love its size, except for the thickness - this little boy sure is a fatty, but I think that the Ri is the perfect size and can be used with just one hand easily, correct?)
-good battery life (I keep my phone always connected, it's on WiFi when at home and on 2G while I'm anywhere out and sometimes on 3G+ when I need the speed for browsing or a quick download of something - the Ri should be good in this regard, because of the power optimisations coming from Intel, right?)
-music playing (my smartphone is my music player and one big plus for the i in the Moto range is the memory card slot. How is the quality of audio output, though, if you could comment on that?)
-enough power for multi-tasking (multi-tasking in my case = music playing + web browsing + writing a mail, for example. It should have plenty enough power for tasks like this, I think.)
-quick camera (the biggest problem I have with my DEFY is that Camera takes 5-6 seconds to start which makes it almost pointless for me The only times I would use my phone as a camera is when I need to capture something quickly and the Ri seems to be perfect for such occasions, because of the dedicated camera button and the speed of all camera operations)
-custom ROMs (one thing I love about the DEFY is that sooo many ROMs are available for it! on the other hand, it seems that development for the Ri is at a much lower level... maybe that will change with KitKat, ey? But I really wish there was some CyanogenMod available for it, it's really got a lot more to offer compared to AOSP )
Don't use for, don't need:
-gaming (I don't game on my phones and I just need enough graphics power to have a smooth UI experience throughout all apps and when browsing and for an occasional video, I guess. Nothing more.)
So... That's pretty much it, I guess. I'm sorry about the long post But please bear with me and give me a couple of answers Please
Cheers!

razr i defy+
in my pinion the razr i has an ideal pocket size, not as thich as the dey+, but screen size a little bit larger. the razr is robust (metal frame), it's not
water resistent but water potected (some type of coating). The display is, sharp with good colours. The display suffers only the things every
phone display suffers, nearly not readable in the sun and not matted (I wish one day there are matted displys for phones).
Scratches, the same as all others (gorilla glass or similar) is scratch resitant till a certain point, but only a tiny grain of sand can scratch it and maybe even a hrdened or coated metal (I use a pouch). For not being afraid of snd grains you need display with saphire glass.
I have Omar's ROM installed and this ROM is very responsive on the razr i with good battery life. i'm looking forward to kitkat too.
I'm satisfied with the razr i. The only phone I would give away the razr I, is an xperia z1compact (because ofit's water resistance and the CM support).

I think, considering your list, you'd be happy with the Razr I. It's a great Smartphone and since Motorola announced the update to KitKat it'll become a bit more up-to-date.
The Razr I is my daily phone for more than a year and I'm still satisfied with it.
It's very robust (almost no scratches) and has everything a good Smartphone needs.
Additionally I'd recommend you to take a look at the Moto G, if you haven't done it before. I think it's at least as good as the Razr I and a good, but not so old Smartphone.

I also did have the defy:
niksy+ said:
Firstly, could you tell me about how does it age? I mean, if you have it for longer than a year now, did it collect too many scratches or other signs of wear and tear? The build quality of the thing seems to be top notch, but I hope you guys can tell me whether it stands up against the everyday usage just as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has a couple of heavy scratches on the border (it fall when I was running) but pretty good overall.
niksy+ said:
Use for, do and want:
-compactness (I currently have a DEFY+ and I love its size, except for the thickness - this little boy sure is a fatty, but I think that the Ri is the perfect size and can be used with just one hand easily, correct?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, you get used to the size pretty quickly
niksy+ said:
-good battery life (I keep my phone always connected, it's on WiFi when at home and on 2G while I'm anywhere out and sometimes on 3G+ when I need the speed for browsing or a quick download of something - the Ri should be good in this regard, because of the power optimisations coming from Intel, right?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't complain, but its not much better than say a defy+
niksy+ said:
-music playing (my smartphone is my music player and one big plus for the i in the Moto range is the memory card slot. How is the quality of audio output, though, if you could comment on that?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not great, but its better than the defy
niksy+ said:
-enough power for multi-tasking (multi-tasking in my case = music playing + web browsing + writing a mail, for example. It should have plenty enough power for tasks like this, I think.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yess more than enough-
niksy+ said:
-quick camera (the biggest problem I have with my DEFY is that Camera takes 5-6 seconds to start which makes it almost pointless for me The only times I would use my phone as a camera is when I need to capture something quickly and the Ri seems to be perfect for such occasions, because of the dedicated camera button and the speed of all camera operations)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yess its freaking fast
niksy+ said:
-custom ROMs (one thing I love about the DEFY is that sooo many ROMs are available for it! on the other hand, it seems that development for the Ri is at a much lower level... maybe that will change with KitKat, ey? But I really wish there was some CyanogenMod available for it, it's really got a lot more to offer compared to AOSP )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not so much scene for this phone, but I rather have a good stock experience than an half backed custom rom.
niksy+ said:
Don't use for, don't need:
-gaming (I don't game on my phones and I just need enough graphics power to have a smooth UI experience throughout all apps and when browsing and for an occasional video, I guess. Nothing more.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use it for gaming, and I'm pretty happy (ppsspp, and epsxe with the ipega, plus some native games and I'm really happy)
I don't know about serbia, but around here, the razr i is the cheapest phone to get kitkat that you can buy (yes, more cheaper than the moto g) If you are on a budget, its still a good option.

paulle said:
The display suffers only the things every phone display suffers, nearly not readable in the sun and not matted (I wish one day there are matted displys for phones).
Scratches, the same as all others (gorilla glass or similar) is scratch resitant till a certain point, but only a tiny grain of sand can scratch it and maybe even a hrdened or coated metal (I use a pouch). For not being afraid of snd grains you need display with saphire glass.
I have Omar's ROM installed and this ROM is very responsive on the razr i with good battery life. i'm looking forward to kitkat too.
I'm satisfied with the razr i. The only phone I would give away the razr I, is an xperia z1compact (because ofit's water resistance and the CM support).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Display - Oh... I read the reviews and they all said great things about the display and its contrast when outside. Is it at least good outside, when not in direct sunlight? The DEFY's display is completely unreadable in direct sunlight
Gorilla Glass - Yes, I do know it doesn't offer complete protection from scratches, but it's still a huge advance from standard glass, imho. The Gorilla Glass on my DEFY was great for me, it has been actively used for two and a half years now and it does have a tiny scratch or too, but they aren't deep and they are hardly visible at any angles, I don't even remember where they are until I search for them. And I know what sapphire glass is, my dad's got a swiss army watch with it, it is incredible!
Z1 Compact - Absolutely awesome device! But I've got two problems with it - the price is MUUCH higher than Razr i and it's not a Motorola... I'm still a huge Moto fan
To tell you the truth, I would possibly rather have a Droid Mini (which is the actual Razr i/M successor, with a 720p 4.3" display and even more compact than Ri (it's noticeably shorter)), but it's only available in America and shipping and taxes would make it too expensive for me But the phone is a beast as much as that Z1 Compact, imho, although it does lack waterproofness. All Droid Minis are factory unlocked and work anywhere in the world, if you didn't know And the new Ultra line (which Mini is a part of) all have the Moto X8 chip which is in the X, as well, so there's touchless control and all that... A really sweet device
j0n1th4n said:
The Razr I is my daily phone for more than a year and I'm still satisfied with it.
It's very robust (almost no scratches) and has everything a good Smartphone needs.
Additionally I'd recommend you to take a look at the Moto G, if you haven't done it before. I think it's at least as good as the Razr I and a good, but not so old Smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Age - Year and a half is a long period, it's good to know that you're still satisfied with it. Could you tell me if the battery is still as good as it was when you bought it? I'm kinda worried that it will start losing capacity quickly, which would be a big problem Actually, if you could tell me anything more about battery life, that would be great :good:
Moto G - a great device, but simply not for me. The build quality, camera, memory card slot, size - all in favour of the Ri The G does have more horsepower and a better (actually bigger, but not sure whether bigger = better) screen, but it's plastic and the bezels around the screen suck and it's veery limited on memory... I love what Moto has done, but it's really not for me
YaPeL said:
Battery:
Can't complain, but its not much better than say a defy+
Price:
I don't know about serbia, but around here, the razr i is the cheapest phone to get kitkat that you can buy (yes, more cheaper than the moto g) If you are on a budget, its still a good option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery - What does "not much better than a defy+" mean? Because my defy+ did last for 3 days often when it was new and on the stock Gingerbread ROM, but now I have to recharge it every night The only time it lasts for 2 days is when I'm at home for those two days and barely use it
Price - The Ri is cheaper than a 16gb Moto G here, as well
And yes, I am on a tight budget, to be honest. I believe the Ri is the best I could get for my money, but I'm trying to triple-check it with you guys, since I will probably be stuck with it for at least a year and a half after purchase
Thanks for helping out, mates

niksy+ said:
I believe it is and it has definitely been on my wish-list ever since it first came out. Specifically the i, not the M version. But it has been a year and a half since it was launched, so I thought you guys, the owners, would be the perfect people to tell whether it's still a good buy
Firstly, could you tell me about how does it age? I mean, if you have it for longer than a year now, did it collect too many scratches or other signs of wear and tear? The build quality of the thing seems to be top notch, but I hope you guys can tell me whether it stands up against the everyday usage just as well
And secondly, I'm just going to list things I use my smartphone for and what I want from it and maybe you could tell me whether the Ri would be a good choice for me
Use for, do and want:
-compactness (I currently have a DEFY+ and I love its size, except for the thickness - this little boy sure is a fatty, but I think that the Ri is the perfect size and can be used with just one hand easily, correct?)
-good battery life (I keep my phone always connected, it's on WiFi when at home and on 2G while I'm anywhere out and sometimes on 3G+ when I need the speed for browsing or a quick download of something - the Ri should be good in this regard, because of the power optimisations coming from Intel, right?)
-music playing (my smartphone is my music player and one big plus for the i in the Moto range is the memory card slot. How is the quality of audio output, though, if you could comment on that?)
-enough power for multi-tasking (multi-tasking in my case = music playing + web browsing + writing a mail, for example. It should have plenty enough power for tasks like this, I think.)
-quick camera (the biggest problem I have with my DEFY is that Camera takes 5-6 seconds to start which makes it almost pointless for me The only times I would use my phone as a camera is when I need to capture something quickly and the Ri seems to be perfect for such occasions, because of the dedicated camera button and the speed of all camera operations)
-custom ROMs (one thing I love about the DEFY is that sooo many ROMs are available for it! on the other hand, it seems that development for the Ri is at a much lower level... maybe that will change with KitKat, ey? But I really wish there was some CyanogenMod available for it, it's really got a lot more to offer compared to AOSP )
Don't use for, don't need:
-gaming (I don't game on my phones and I just need enough graphics power to have a smooth UI experience throughout all apps and when browsing and for an occasional video, I guess. Nothing more.)
So... That's pretty much it, I guess. I'm sorry about the long post But please bear with me and give me a couple of answers Please
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the "common" Defy, not the plus one, before the Razr I. What a tough phone, I really enjoyed that, upgraded the CyanogenMod's until the ICS, then I sold it to a friend... whom killed him sinking it in a glass of Red Label whisky! Poor phone :crying:. But let's talk about the Ri. I bought mine in December, 2012. Now, I was about to buy another phone, but the news about upgrade to KK changed my mind, and I'll keep it a little more months. The Ri isn't water and dust proof as Defy, but it's tough anyway. It fell in the ground after 1 week I received it, and made a VERY little scratch in the bottom left metal corner! The Kevlar, in practice, doesn't make it feel tougher, but helps a lot about finger prints usually is visible in the back of other phones, in Ri is extremely reduced.
-compactness: In comparison to Defy, it's MUCH thinner! I use my Ri with a silicon case, and screen shield, and when I take out the case, it makes a huge difference, in weight, and dimensions, and the feel that metal + kevlar gives you. Yes, it can be used with only one hand easily.
-good battery life: It depends a lot of use. I use my Ri with static wallpaper and auto brightness. 2G/3G always ON, 40% of the time in WIFI, a few times checking Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, some SMS's and a few calls, it can handle from 8am till 10pm~01am most of times, in my style of use.
-music playing: I have to admit that Ri isn't my main music player, but my tablet Asus Transformer. Anyway, I have PowerAmp installed in Ri too, it has a good sound quality, the speaker could be louder, it reduces the bass to avoid dirtortions. The earphone that comes with Ri is an ordinary one, with a mic. If you really like sound quality, I recommend you to buy a good one, if you don't have already done.
-enough power for multi-tasking: It can handle this case of Multi Tasking easily. It won't be as fast as the top phones, but it won't disappoint you in your situation of multi tasking.
-quick camera: The camera opens REALLY fast. The case I use in my Ri, doesn't have the hole to press the camera button, so sometimes when I take my phone, accidentaly press the camera button and it instantly turns on. In quality of image, it's more than enough to post in Facebook, and this social websites. But looking deeply, in dark situations, it shows a lot of noise, if not used in Night mode (use in Auto, for ex.). The videos in Full HD are awesome, sound too, but the against part, is that if you don't get steady, they'll be shaky very easily.
-custom ROMs: This is weakest point of Ri, because of Intel processor, it makes to get the drivers much harder for the developers. But I'm fine with the way stock JB is, and Kit Kat is about to come. I had already passed some bad situations changing ROM's in my old Defy, so the more you stand in a stock ROM, better it'll be. With KK, Ri will be up to date, so there's no reason for a while to search for other ROMS.
I don't like gaming in the phones too. Although, Ri can handle most of them, it heats a little, nothing that makes unconfortable, like most of the other phones in the market.
Sometimes, my Ri starts to get a little laggy, but I learned a trick, that anyone can use it if you want: the cache memory from apps. When the laggy starts, just go to Settings, and clear the caches from the main apps (Facebook, Instagram, for ex., which ones can reach +100MB of cache quickly).
It's a good phone, worth it for it's price, but it will get outdated, as I bet that KK will be the last update for Ri. As someone told before, there is the Moto G, that is newer, and can receive another update, but it loses against the Ri in the lack of SD card, and camera.
Sorry for any mistake in my English, I really hope you understood everything I wrote, because it's my routine with Razr I.

You can also consider waiting few days for Moto E launch, but if you don't like Moto G, wou probably wouldn't like E as well ;]
I bought my Razr i just about month ago and it was great choice.

hey there, what an interesting subject !
I had similar thoughts to yours about a months ago.. and then I bought myself a white, used Razr I
I have to say that I'm very satisfied with it. Previously I owned a Samsung Galaxy S Plus (nice phone but the plastic-metal frame around the screen made it sooo ugly) and before this I owned a Motorola Defy whitch I practically felt in love with and I really liked Motorola for the quality of the product.
With the Razr I am now finally 100% happy. This phone is very powerfull - its flashing fast, the UI is super smooth on stock and every app and game Ive tried works amazingly great and I had no problems or disappointments at all.
Now I'll try to quick-answer to you questions basing on my experiences:
- multitasking - PERFECT
- battery life - you can easily get 2 days of usage with all the extras turned on all the time BUT with programs like DS battery saver installed (turns off all the connectivity after screen is turned off and just regulairly turns it on) and maybe other apps which prolong the battery use. WIthout these apps one day is easily achievable even with gaming, GPS, and web browsing etc.
- sound - really good, speaker isn;t as good as in DEFY (Defy's speaker is a legend !!) but its also loud and nice to listen to, not like in all the samsung galaxy S plus or LG nexus. With the headphones the quality is good for me, comperable to my iPod classic 5g.
- camera - super fast but the photo quality is not fantastic (Samsung S plus 5MP takes better pics), but still great, movies quality is super sharp !
- size and quality of make - the size is ideal, HEAVY is RELIABLE ("Lock stock and two smoking barrels" ;D ) but my first experiences were a bit stressing - the phone felt as it could fall out of my hands - after getting used to it it feels better. Im still thinking whether to get a case for it or not.
Generally its a great phone that I would honestly recomend, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

niksy+ said:
Display - Oh... I read the reviews and they all said great things about the display and its contrast when outside. Is it at least good outside, when not in direct sunlight? The DEFY's display is completely unreadable in direct sunlight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its passable with the brightness on medium, its better than the defy in every aspect but definition, you may see some pixels on the white letters, but you get used to it, and once you go amoled, you never go back (?.
niksy+ said:
Battery - What does "not much better than a defy+" mean? Because my defy+ did last for 3 days often when it was new and on the stock Gingerbread ROM, but now I have to recharge it every night The only time it lasts for 2 days is when I'm at home for those two days and barely use it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the same as with the defy, a day and a half, a day-
niksy+ said:
And yes, I am on a tight budget, to be honest. I believe the Ri is the best I could get for my money, but I'm trying to triple-check it with you guys, since I will probably be stuck with it for at least a year and a half after purchase
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go for it, try to avoid the white version if you can.

Well,
I am on my second Razr I at the moment. When it came out, I was really happy to be one of the first to have the Atom based Smartphone. Here my thoughts about the phone:
Pros:
- Awesome battery life. I switched from a Galaxy S2 to the Razr I and I was happy to at last be able to last through the day. When the Razr I came out, I could hardly think of a phone that could beat it's battery life. Then, a year ago I moved and got a new phone, the Razr I was still the best option considering battery life. The "old Razr I" is now used by my wife, she also loves it.
- Good build Quality
- Excellent size for people who don't like having such big phones.
- Nice screen quality. That does't mean that it has the best screen, I just see it has a good contrast level (blacks are really black, colors are vivid).
Cons:
- Many apps were (or are still) not compatible with Intel based phones. One example was (now it works) Firefox. It isn't a stopper for me, but it could be for some people.
- Really few custom roms.
- Updates from Motorola... Well, its a shame but I see it's just the same with other vendors...
- Battery not removable. Bad if the phone hangs (has happened to me once or twice, rebooting it is not very normal-user-friendly). However, after having the first phone with relatively heavy usage since it was launched, battery still performs without any noticeable difference.
- The Aluminium Bezel easily scratches, and scratches then are... aluminium color, so for me using some kind of case is a must (imho).
- Even though it supports Hyperthreading, it is just not as fast as a 4-core chip...
So, if I was going to get a new phone soon, I probably would consider some other (newer / more actual) model. There are plenty of 2000mAh+ phones on the market, I would just look for options where battery life is at least as good as the Razr I and I would probably go that way. However, that doesn't mean that the Razr is not actual anymore, I think we will stick with them for at least one more year...
Regards

mschmiedel said:
- Updates from Motorola... Well, its a shame but I see it's just the same with other vendors...
- Battery not removable. Bad if the phone hangs (has happened to me once or twice, rebooting it is not very normal-user-friendly). However, after having the first phone with relatively heavy usage since it was launched, battery still performs without any noticeable difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Yeah well I think motorola is the best in this regard, also the razr i its one of the oldest non-nexus device to get kitkat (if not the oldest)
- Just press powerbutton + vol up + vol down and you will reboot your device, no matter how bad it hung it will work.

YaPeL said:
- Just press powerbutton + vol up + vol down and you will reboot your device, no matter how bad it hung it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I found out after the first time it got stuck... However, I don't see it as a very normal-user-friendly feature... Any normal user would remove the battery, and if it's not possible, they would keep the powerbutton pressed, but I can hardly imagine someone trying it in combination with other buttons (well, the Razr I only has these three )... I could imagine people letting the battery drain and rescuing the phone after a full charge...

I'm glad to say that after more than a year with this phone, I still wouldn't give it up and would whole-heartedly recommend it.
On the case of durability, I bought a bodyglove case for mine and it's practically indestructible. I mean, drop on concrete from five feet indestructible. Didn't even bother putting a screen protector on it, I let the Gorilla Glass do its job. Only a minor scratch after months without one, from one of my keys. The aluminum frame will scratch, but that's expected.
Battery life is, in one word, MAGNIFICENT. I used to be really frugal with it and never used 3G unless I needed it, and I could make it through twelve hours of light use with 60% left. Now I just leave my 3G on all the time, and I still make it through about 12 hours of heavy use (trivia crack got me) with about 40% left. It's truly fantastic.
Multitasking is fine for what you plan on using it for, I usually have music playing while I'm on it. As a music player, I love it. 32gb card keeps my whole collection, and I use Shuttle for a really nice, clean experience.
The camera is more than adequate, and very fast. Literally launches in less than a second. Pictures often come out grainy, especially if you zoom in it. But it's still a very good camera.
On roms, it's pretty meh. Not too many roms to choose from, but we have many dedicated members who have put some amazing roms out. I'm on omar's rom and it's quite fantastic.
Overall, it's a great phone. If you can find for a decent price, I'd go for it. Even with low price contenders like the Moto G (which has KK, a +) I would still recommend it. Definitely a good buy.

Do you want a compact phone? Get it. Otherwise get the moto g which is great. The I is fast, getting KitKat, the only downside is that it has only one gigabyte of RAM which us notable like once a day after heavy browsing. Speed wise its fast, real racing works nicely(it's the only hardware intensegame that I could test, I don't play on the phone). Browsing is fast but pages will have to reload after multi tasking more often then not. As I already said, if u want the size go for it, if you don't care or are after size don't.

I bought the Moto G for my father and he didn't want it so i decided to keep it. I have the Razr I and i have the moto X. Long story short, i sold the Moto G. Why? Well the screen technology is not as good as the amoled that is on the razr i. Yes it was fast, but the Moto G (at the time) didnt take an SD. The phone was considerably bulkier (and yes i have a Moto X that i use as my daily driver).
I am anxiously awaiting KitKat upgrade because the phone used to run out of memory and lag some once too many applications were running. Everyone compliments me on the Razr I and its screen when i travel.

Hi there, just adding, i bought a Rarzr i recently (around 2 month) well i have to say : totally worth it ( and i had a one X and a SGS III before )
It is the 1st one i keep at stock ROM plus the battery last quite long and it feels smooth and snappy
All i wait now is the 4.4 update...
Sent from my XT890 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

YaPeL said:
go for it, try to avoid the white version if you can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why should one avoid the white version ? ..

your_login said:
why should one avoid the white version ? ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No kevlar. (Although its more beatiful)
Enviado desde mi XT890 usando Tapatalk now Free

YaPeL said:
No kevlar. (Although its more beatiful)
Enviado desde mi XT890 usando Tapatalk now Free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All right, i havnt even noticed how does it make a difference in practical way? Is kevlar lighter, protects the back of the phone stronger or radiates the hot temperature from the cpu better?

your_login said:
All right, i havnt even noticed how does it make a difference in practical way? Is kevlar lighter, protects the back of the phone stronger or radiates the hot temperature from the cpu better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well english is not my first tounge so I don't really know how to explain it exactly but some people reported that the "^threads^ of their back started to fall out", anyway is not something that happened to everyone, so maybe you got a good one.
Enviado desde mi XT890 usando Tapatalk now Free

[Q] Should I buy Z3-C and Common Issues

Hi, I am looking to switch my phone from LG G2 to something different.
I am looking at Z3 Compact along with some other alternatives and would like to know common issues (both software and hardware level) in this Z3-C before making decision.
Also adding my primary usage:
- Net surfing
- Watching Videos
- Good battery life (LG G2 was awesome in this criteria)
Please share your experience with Z3-C and should I get it or instead save some money and get the Z1-C?
Thank for your valuable response.

Well if you're gonna ask in the Z3C forum you're gonna get alot of bias
But my first impressions are really good so far. Surfing is a very smooth and amazing experience overall. I personally dislike Chrome so I'm using UC browser HD. But, and that's the thing: No matter what app you use everything is silky smooth! With my SGS3 I was very limited with browsers because ~70% where just a laggy mess. Z3C handles everything with ease. So browsing will only be limited by the app you chose, the processing power, the display - the hardware side is very capable.
That also goes for watching videos, the display is very good in my opinion. I had to get used to it after using an Amoled for 2 1/2 years but you can even tune the white balance yourself in the display settings so you decide how you like your whites. Of course I wouldn't wanna watch a full movie on it or something - the screensize is a little on the small size for that. But obviously that's why we are buying the Z3C Power in a smaller size.
Battery life: Amazing. I used the extended battery with the SGS3 which made the device heavy and very thick (~1cm) and it got me through 2 days with about 4-5h screen use. I'm running my Z3C on its second cycle now and I'm on the evening of the second day with 19% left and an amazing 6h 40min screen time. And that's while heavily using it - setting up apps, testing games and emulators with BT controllers, making quite some photos/videos, some phone calls etc. I'd say you should easily get through 2 full days.
I don't know alot about the Z1C but I'd get the Z3C for the double tap to wake alone

in_core said:
Hi, I am looking to switch my phone from LG G2 to something different.
I am looking at Z3 Compact along with some other alternatives and would like to know common issues (both software and hardware level) in this Z3-C before making decision.
Also adding my primary usage:
- Net surfing
- Watching Videos
- Good battery life (LG G2 was awesome in this criteria)
Please share your experience with Z3-C and should I get it or instead save some money and get the Z1-C?
Thank for your valuable response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I preordered my Z3C last week especially because all reviews highlighted the best in class battery life, camera and usability (size).
Reading the first reviews of peeps here on xda I read about the display that is easy to scratch, the edges that come off when you drop the device, the volume of the speakers that is too low, etc.. I don't know if people here are a bunch of whiners or if the phone really is that sensitive.. Probably people exaggerate but I'll find out soon myself since I should get it this week (I have no regrets whatsoever, I still want the phone)

clouds5 said:
Well if you're gonna ask in the Z3C forum you're gonna get alot of bias
But my first impressions are really good so far. Surfing is a very smooth and amazing experience overall. I personally dislike Chrome so I'm using UC browser HD. But, and that's the thing: No matter what app you use everything is silky smooth! With my SGS3 I was very limited with browsers because ~70% where just a laggy mess. Z3C handles everything with ease. So browsing will only be limited by the app you chose, the processing power, the display - the hardware side is very capable.
That also goes for watching videos, the display is very good in my opinion. I had to get used to it after using an Amoled for 2 1/2 years but you can even tune the white balance yourself in the display settings so you decide how you like your whites. Of course I wouldn't wanna watch a full movie on it or something - the screensize is a little on the small size for that. But obviously that's why we are buying the Z3C Power in a smaller size.
Battery life: Amazing. I used the extended battery with the SGS3 which made the device heavy and very thick (~1cm) and it got me through 2 days with about 4-5h screen use. I'm running my Z3C on its second cycle now and I'm on the evening of the second day with 19% left and an amazing 6h 40min screen time. And that's while heavily using it - setting up apps, testing games and emulators with BT controllers, making quite some photos/videos, some phone calls etc. I'd say you should easily get through 2 full days.
I don't know alot about the Z1C but I'd get the Z3C for the double tap to wake alone
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Thanks for your valuable input.
The thing is I wont get warranty in my country. GEnerally I have seen Sony to be unreliable in term of hardware (always shows up issues in mid-long term period) and also they are very slow with os updates and does not even give updates after some time, where as htc nd sammy gives fast updates nd supports for 2 yrs.
I did like the phone's specs nd all. The size is perfect for me as well.

in_core said:
Thanks for your valuable input.
The thing is I wont get warranty in my country. GEnerally I have seen Sony to be unreliable in term of hardware (always shows up issues in mid-long term period) and also they are very slow with os updates and does not even give updates after some time, where as htc nd sammy gives fast updates nd supports for 2 yrs.
I did like the phone's specs nd all. The size is perfect for me as well.
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Click to collapse
They've gotten faster with the updates. And I'm guessing it will further improve in the future since they are not going to release so many low-/mid-end phones anymore, if any.
---------- Post added at 11:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 PM ----------
Despite a handful of reports of cracked glass and chipped bezels, this phone is still the #1 candidate on my list. When I buy one, I'll probably get one of those crystal-clear hard-cases for it. Doesn't hide the sexiness of the phone.